Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital SMART Edition of The Times-Tribune on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at thetimes-tribune.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device, read the Smart Edition sign up for daily newsletters, activate your all access, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

Right now, folks dream of Thursday and all the mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and turkey the holiday offers. Local Flavor loves a Thanksgiving meal just as much as the next person, but today it’s all about the other white meat: pork.
(read more)

Article Tools

butch comegys / staff photographer
Kevin Treat has turned his love for wood carving as an artform into a business opportunity, working under the moniker "The Sawptician."

photos by butch comegys/staff photographer
Lake Winola resident Kevin Treat, known professionally as "The Sawptician," stands with a completed wood carving on his property, where he makes and showcases his art.

Some artists make their mark with a gentle swipe of a brush or the soft click of a camera.

When Kevin Treat gets creative, he rips a chainsaw to life, fires up the propane tank and blow torch, and takes his power tools roaring out of the storage shed to make art.

A career optician with more than 26 years of experience, Mr. Treat now goes by the moniker "The Sawptician," and demonstrates his love for chainsaw carving as an artform and a business.

The Lake Winola resident started making relief carvings as a hobby and as Christmas gifts more than a decade ago, and noticed the handiness of a chainsaw for removing a mass of wood to create negative space. Mr. Treat noted he was used to handling the resource since he had been carrying and burning wood even as a young boy growing up in nearby Mill City.

His passion for "extreme power art," as he calls it, continued to grow and received attention from more and more admirers. As he honed his craft, Mr. Treat recognized the potential for a business opportunity.

"People started asking me to make them something," he said. "I never intended it to be a for-profit venture, but the planets aligned so it works."

Mr. Treat no longer maintains commercial space as an optician, though he does teach an optician class at Penn Foster College and makes regular trips to nursing homes to make eyewear for residents. Instead, he now spends his days working in his front yard out of a large shed that doubles as a work space and show room for his carvings.

"Every day I wake up and say, 'I love what I do,' because I can make glasses or work on carving orders," Mr. Treat said.

As "The Sawptician," Mr. Treat's talent has many uses: He can create custom wood sculptures, including benches, welcome posts and animal statues, or perform on-site tree stump carvings, which transform the remnants of downed trees into pieces of art.

"The biggest challenge is finding balance," Mr. Treat said. His schedule is about to get busier with the onset of summer and its accompanying fairs, festivals and carving competitions, for which he stocks up on inventory to sell and at which he must complete timed, live-event entertainment carvings.

Mr. Treat also received a project grant from Lackawanna County's Arts & Culture program to complete three benches for Hillside Park in Clarks Summit. The motifs for each will reflect the sports, gardens and dog areas of the community space, he said.

As in the past, Mr. Treat plans to make appearances or perform live demonstrations at the Harford Fair, the Northeast Fair, the Pennsylvania Lumber Museum and other fundraising events throughout the region.

"People want to see a carving start, and come back a half-hour later to see what it's become," he explained. "It usually holds crowds well."

On a recent afternoon at his property, Mr. Treat completed carving a large cylinder of wood into a welcome post topped with a black bear in under 20 minutes. In that time, he used several chainsaws of varying size (he has about 15 in his collection), a power saw, an angle die grinder, a torch attached to a propane tank and, most creatively, a toilet scrubber brush attached to a power drill to finish his project.

"I've always been sort of a hillbilly engineer," Mr. Treat said with a laugh regarding his inventive tool.

Most of his work reflects his love of indigenous wildlife, he added, though one animal in particular is always the most popular with buyers.

"Chainsaw carvers have a saying, 'Bears pay the bills,'" he quipped. "You have to find a balance between what you like to do and what sells. Otherwise, you become your own best collector."

The appeal of the wood carvings is easy enough to understand, he added.

"With this economy, a lot of people are looking for a simpler lifestyle - rustic - and this does it," Mr. Treat reasoned. "It's wood, it's natural and you don't have to be a millionaire to have it in your household."

"It takes a while to get comfortable with the learning curve. I'm still learning," he said. "If someone is interested (in wood carving), I recommend they go to a competition to see it. Most carvers are friends, and most are willing to show you if you ask them how to do something."

Mr. Treat has never been injured in all the years he's been working with chainsaws, though he has had a few close calls, he admitted. To stay protected, he wears heavy duty chaps, steeltoe shoes, goggles and ear coverings while he works.

Despite the inherit danger of his medium, Mr. Treat finds his work thrilling.

"I like working with wood and making things," he said. "I wake up in the morning and it's such a blessing."

At home: Lives in Lake Winola with his wife, Linda, and their children, Elizabeth, Natalie, Olivia and Logan

At work: Mr. Treat has been an optician for 26 years.

Also known for: His work as a chainsaw carving artist, creating custom wood sculptures, and performing on-site tree stump or event entertainment carvings.

Nickname: "The Sawptician," bestowed upon him by a former customer for whom he had made glasses and who saw him carve at an event.

Website: www.sawptician.com

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.